I just finished Persuasion (2022) and GOOD LORD was it Not Good. The creators have made so many baffling decisions with this film, truly.
Henry Golding was hands down the best part of this film, I wish we could have had more of him. He stole every scene he was in, you could tell he was enjoying playing the bad boy. Such a fuckboi but so much fun to watch (and so lovely to look at)
Mary was hilarious, I agree with others who said she was one of the better parts of this film
I didn't actually hate most of the jokes, I thought they were funny, I just wish they were actually in a better film, one where it would have made sense to have those jokes
I'm glad more period films are going for diverse casting, I wish it could have been extended to the main couple
The young lady who plays Louisa Musgrove was a joy to watch and I think she'd make a great Lizzie
Now, the things I did not like:
Look how they massacred my girl
Why did they make Anne such an asshole? The "Charles originally wanted to marry me" scene was so unbearably painful to watch (I had to mute it and just read to subtitles to get through it) and so bewildering because Anne from the book would never have behaved so badly, would NEVER have slighted her sister like that, nevermind so publicly! It was such a petty, spiteful thing to do, and Wentworth was right to call Anne on it.
The fourth wall breaking doesn't do Anne any favours. When Wentworth tells Louisa that Anne also has pride, that hers takes the form of judging people from the side, he's right! That's what the fourth wall breaking is! Anne judging everyone from the side!
Anne's agency is stripped away, her choice to stay with little Charles is made into Mary telling her to stay, her choice to speak with Benwick is changed to Harville telling Anne to speak to him
Our intelligence as viewers is constantly insulted by the film having characters recite lines from the book, then ""translate"" them into modern English and say the same thing, because apparently they don't trust us to be able to understand text written 200 years ago
We are told everything but hardly actually see things. We are told how people feel, we are told how capable Anne is, but we don't actually see it for ourselves because as viewers we are too stupid to get it. The BBC 1995 version, while not perfect, does an outstanding job imo of showing us Anne's despair and loneliness, without her needing to spell it out
Anne and Wentworth are not friends during the plot of the novel, they are estranged lovers, the weight of their history is too much for them to be friends. They talk to each other way too much and way too candidly. When Wentworth all but confesses his feelings on the beach, there was really no need for the rest of the film, they could have gotten together then and there! There's really no need for Wentworth to write his letter, they're such good friends and speak so openly he should be able to just tell her
"You are a lady who has no trouble speaking her mind" or whatever the fuck the line was YES AND THAT'S THE PROBLEM!!!! Anne of the novel does have a problem speaking her mind, or at least she is never given the space to properly speak it. She has learned her own mind over the last 8 years and is now ready to start making her own space and getting other people to recognise it. Movie Anne is not downtrodden or pushed to the side or ignored, she never let's that happen to herself, she is snarky to the point of being mean, she pushes back against her father and sisters, she banters with Wentworth and Mr Elliot, she had the audience as her constant (and unwilling) confidant, she is wholly unlike book Anne who only really has Lady Russell and maybe Mrs Smith
Stupid changes I want to list:
The switching of dialogue between characters, Austen wrote it that way for a reason
The switch from Henrietta/Louisa to Louisa/Anne as love rivals was stupid
Anne's friendship with the Musgrove girls while sweet, was another point to show how unlike the book she was
The use of Anne's first name by anyone who wasn't family was wholly inappropriate, I'm looking at you Wentworth and Admiral Croft
Why was Anne constantly being asked to do things staff would have done? Anne shouldn't be in charge of telling the Crofts what they can and can't do in the house, that's what your solicitor and rental agreement are for! Anne wouldn't be getting the door, especially for someone she hasn't properly been introduced to!
Some fashion/hair choices were certainly...choices
Letting Anne believe Louisa was marrying Wentworth for as long as she did was dumb and pointless
After Louisa cracks her head, and they are in the carriage, Wentworth laments that he didn't put a stop to Louisa's crush and basically confesses again...and Anne does nothing
Also I'm p sure the lesson from that incident is that a mind that cannot ever be persuaded is also a bad thing, not that Wentworth shouldn't have encouraged a crush (tho he should also consider not messing with people's feelings)
"What would Anne/Jesus do" had me laughing
Why was the film set in spring/summer when it is very clearly an autumnal book?
Everyone knows about Anne and Wentworth's history apparently
Louisa wanting Anne's blessing to pursue Wentworth after trying to push them together, after clearly a v short time was whack
There are other things that bugged me but I can't be bothered to list. Needless to say, I won't be watching this one and will instead rewatch the 95 version.
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